The Top 5 Ways Trump’s Bill Will Impact You
Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” is going to reverberate across many different facets of American life for decades to come. But how?
Here are the TOP 5 ways Trump’s OBBB will affect Americans:
1. Tax Cuts. How the cuts will break down is very simple:
Poor and lower middle class people will lose money
Middle class Americans will get a tepid shrug’s worth of benefit
Upper Middle Class + Upper Class Americans will see the lion’s share of the benefit
Not only do these tax cuts overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy, they add trillions of dollars to the national debt. This is “Trickle Down Economics” in its most lethal form.
It’s also important to remember that these are extensions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) from 2017 — so many people won’t notice any change in their taxes at all. It’s largely wealthy people that will notice the difference.
2. Your Monthly Energy Costs Will Rise. Trump’s OBBB makes substantial cuts to investments in clean energy. Now, why will this impact your monthly bill?
Simple: 90% of the additions to the grid to provide electricity in 2024 were from clean energy. Reverting back to fossil fuels will raise costs across the board. Some states can expect almost a 30% rise in monthly energy prices.
3. If You Have Medicaid, You Better Have a Job. We’ve all seen the numbers on people losing their Medicaid — but why?
It’s not just a straight cut to Medicaid. It’s adding barriers to accessing coverage. The primary barrier (causing over 50% of the Medicaid coverage losses) is work requirements.
Essentially, unless you’re a teenager or a senior citizen, you have to work to get Medicaid now. Many people (for a variety of reasons) will not be able to meet these requirements. The list of reasons why is long — they may be taking care of children full time, taking care of their family members, don’t live in an area with jobs they qualify for…you get it. This will be the main reason people lose their coverage.
4. If You Rely on SNAP, You May Get Hungrier. Food Stamps or “SNAP Benefits” are relied upon by tens of millions of Americans to pay for food. I have people in my family who rely on SNAP to eat. Trump’s OBBB contains about a 20% cut to SNAP benefits. This is the largest cut to SNAP in American history.
How this will play out is unclear. But what is clear is that the odds are good that hungry people will get hungrier.
5. Taxes on Tips + Overtime. One of Trump’s centerpiece promises during the 2024 campaign was No Taxes on Tips or Overtime. This is not delivering on that promise.
To be fair, it’s not nothing — but Trump is not outright eliminating taxes on people who work overtime or make their money from tips. He’s adding a deduction for those types of income that are capped. Here’s the details:
Tips: Up to $25,000 in tips can be deducted from your taxes. Anything beyond that is not eligible for deduction and you’ll pay the full amount in taxes on that income.
Overtime: Up to $12,500 in overtime can be deducted from your taxes. Same as tips, the rest is not eligible for deduction and you’ll pay the full freight.
So, sure, did he lower taxes on those two sources of income? Yes. But did he deliver on NO taxes on tips or overtime? He did not.
In the end, this bill is bad for nearly everyone in America unless they’re wealthy. But if you’re wealthy AND you also care about your fellow American who is less fortunate than you — it’s bad for you, too.